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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
slow-paced
adventurous
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A biting, bitter satire of spycraft's glorification. The anti-spy novel, this book is foreboding and pitch-dark in its comedic revelry in the pointlessness of Cold War posturing and espionage, and especially its human consequences.
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
On the whole, the plot was pretty standard for this series. But the relationship and subtext between Avery and Leiser was unexpected and evocative. The characterisation of women was poor.
Not my favorite Le Carre, but I am glad I read it for the sake of Smiley. Looking forward to more Smiley and more of his stand alone novels.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's no secret I'm a huge le Carré fan. Especially of his character George Smiley.
Lucky for me then that this novel is #4 in the Smiley series. He doesn't play a prominent roll in this book but his presence is felt throughout.
This is a taut and tense read. Le Carré surpasses other spy writers with wonderful, evocative descriptions that persuade you that you are walking the very corridors his characters are creeping along. His characters are always so well observed and real that they make an indelible impression in your brain.
I don't want to give away anything but all I'll say is, if you decide to fly in the face of Smiley, all bets are off.
With Skyfall fever infecting the globe, this is the perfect time to pick up this book and step into post-War espionage - a book to leave you shaken AND stirred.
Check out my YouTube review here: http://youtu.be/kRQJrrAPRpY
Lucky for me then that this novel is #4 in the Smiley series. He doesn't play a prominent roll in this book but his presence is felt throughout.
This is a taut and tense read. Le Carré surpasses other spy writers with wonderful, evocative descriptions that persuade you that you are walking the very corridors his characters are creeping along. His characters are always so well observed and real that they make an indelible impression in your brain.
I don't want to give away anything but all I'll say is, if you decide to fly in the face of Smiley, all bets are off.
With Skyfall fever infecting the globe, this is the perfect time to pick up this book and step into post-War espionage - a book to leave you shaken AND stirred.
Check out my YouTube review here: http://youtu.be/kRQJrrAPRpY
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Looking Glass War is chiefly a story of hubris and futility, as (Leclerc) a head of intelligence operations desperate to stay relevant and restore his department to the glory of days past takes increasingly needless risks for the sake of his own pride. The mistakes are nearly endless; acting on clearly bad intelligence, supplied with out of date technology, using previously burnt agents, sending people on missions they're simply not trained for and are ill equipped to deal with, failing to do even the very basic due diligence.
It loses itself in the second half as the story moves away from Leclerc and on to the training of Leiser. He's an odd duck, to say the least, and not a particularly engaging character to follow which is a shame considering so much of the book is focused on him. There's also definitely an issue with the attitude towards women in this book with the Wives and mistresses all being portrayed as reckless information leaking harpies which is a great shame.
As is to be expected the actual writing from le Carre is great throughout but the mystery of the plot feels a little transparent so presumably it was intentional all along for the reader to see through it but unfortunately this leaves a feeling of disinterest in much of the plot as a result. Then there's the real mystery, namely that of why Control lets this whole thing play out at all which is interesting but unfortunately very much a background issue to the main plot.
It loses itself in the second half as the story moves away from Leclerc and on to the training of Leiser. He's an odd duck, to say the least, and not a particularly engaging character to follow which is a shame considering so much of the book is focused on him. There's also definitely an issue with the attitude towards women in this book with the Wives and mistresses all being portrayed as reckless information leaking harpies which is a great shame.
As is to be expected the actual writing from le Carre is great throughout but the mystery of the plot feels a little transparent so presumably it was intentional all along for the reader to see through it but unfortunately this leaves a feeling of disinterest in much of the plot as a result. Then there's the real mystery, namely that of why Control lets this whole thing play out at all which is interesting but unfortunately very much a background issue to the main plot.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes